Congenital Heart Lobby Day 2012 was certainly one to celebrate! Nearly 80 advocates gathered in Washington, D.C., on March 1 for this incredible opportunity to talk to their lawmakers about congenital heart disease.

In March 2011, ACHA once again, joined with partner organizations The Children’s Heart Foundation and Mended Little Hearts in hosting National Congenital Heart Lobby Day in Washington, D.C.

This year’s event targeted members of the appropriations committee, with 33 advocates flown in from key districts to visit 42 legislative offices. The message continued to be urgent request for funding of the provisions outlined in the Congenital Heart Futures Act, including increased National Institutes of Health funding and $7.25 million to the CDC for CHD surveillance.

More than 100 dedicated patients, caregivers and medical professionals, representing 28 states, united in one voice, asking their lawmakers to fund the provisions outlined in the Congenital Heart Futures Act at Lobby Day 2010.

The prediction of a major winter storm in Washington, DC, on February 13, 2007, did not stop 74 congenital heart advocates from 19 states from attending the second National Congenital Heart Lobby Day on Capitol Hill.